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I've been talking to one of the insiders at Scout.com. He told me that the Pats are SERIOUS about picking up another back. They are looking for a back like Dillon. I don't know who is out there that fits the Dillon mold. I can't think of anyone. They are also looking for the future Kevin Faulk too. It will be interesting to see how this works out.

So who's out there that would fit that Dillon mold? I can't think of anyone. Kevin Jones doesn't strike me as a Dillon type of back.

Frankly I don't see a Corey Dillon on that list - unless the health issues that I have read in regards to Shaun Alexander are not true.

Benson, Henry - no way, don't have a winning attitude

Kevin Jones - somewhere in between, except with the worst, rather than best, of both worlds: a guy who is not healthy, thinks more highly of himself than is reasonable, and is more concerned about money than winning.

The rest - JAGs that may be decent backups, but none of which are an upgrade over Sammie Morris.

With all due respect, I just don't see it - though the Pats FO has certainly pulled in players that we didn't think of before that worked out extremely well.

I just don't see where a fourth RB could possibly fit into this team's roster. They've worked with 3 or less RBs for all of Belichick's tenure. What exactly would that fourth RB bring to the team besides training camp insurance?

I've been talking to one of the insiders at Scout.com. He told me that the Pats are SERIOUS about picking up another back. They are looking for a back like Dillon. I don't know who is out there that fits the Dillon mold. I can't think of anyone. They are also looking for the future Kevin Faulk too. It will be interesting to see how this works out.

So who's out there that would fit that Dillon mold? I can't think of anyone. Kevin Jones doesn't strike me as a Dillon type of back.

I just don't see where a fourth RB could possibly fit into this team's roster. They've worked with 3 or less RBs for all of Belichick's tenure. What exactly would that fourth RB bring to the team besides training camp insurance?

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I agree Pats1. But apparently, they are serious about picking up another back. As far as I know, Morris is healthy. Unless he suffers a major setback, I don't know where another back will fit on this team.

The insiders say that the Pats really like Kevin Jones and are still interested. We'll see how that turns out.

If what you report is true, that doesn't say much for their confidence in Maroney.

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I don't agree with that. If they are trying to get a Dillon type of back, they are obviously looking for a bruiser who can get the tough yards in short yardage situations. It sounds more like a complimentary back to Maroney who can play the role of a powerback, but still doesn't run through people like Dillon did. I think it could spell the end of Morris if they find someone who could can play significant time since Morris played the short yardage RB before he got injured.

Personally, I would go with Anthony Thomas, Ron Dayne, or Travis Henry. Kevin Jones is not a Dillon type back. Mike Anderson could, but he hasn't played in a year. Davenport maybe.

I've been talking to one of the insiders at Scout.com. He told me that the Pats are SERIOUS about picking up another back. They are looking for a back like Dillon. I don't know who is out there that fits the Dillon mold. I can't think of anyone. They are also looking for the future Kevin Faulk too. It will be interesting to see how this works out.

So who's out there that would fit that Dillon mold? I can't think of anyone. Kevin Jones doesn't strike me as a Dillon type of back.

Call me crazy, but I'd rather take a chance on Cedric Benson. I think he's got the most talent and least amount of wear and tear of anyone on that list. I'd give him a veteran minimum salary with incentives to earn more if he keeps his nose clean and produces. It's a shame that he got into trouble in Chicago and never lived up to his draft status, but I don't think his talent should go to waste. A change of setting and a chance to play with some great leaders in the Pats' lockerroom would do him some good.

I don't agree with that. If they are trying to get a Dillon type of back, they are obviously looking for a bruiser who can get the tough yards in short yardage situations. It sounds more like a complimentary back to Maroney who can play the role of a powerback, but still doesn't run through people like Dillon did. I think it could spell the end of Morris if they find someone who could can play significant time since Morris played the short yardage RB before he got injured.

Personally, I would go with Anthony Thomas, Ron Dayne, or Travis Henry. Kevin Jones is not a Dillon type back. Mike Anderson could, but he hasn't played in a year. Davenport maybe.

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I understand your position, and I spent a lot of time last season defending Maroney, and I actually love his potential and the threat he poses as a breakaway runner if the o-line can actually block for him instead of getting him hit behind the line seemingly 3 runs out of 4.. I just don't think it's a good sign if your team is looking to bring in yet another back to take carries away from Maroney with the level of interest that DefenseRules seems to indicate they have.

All due respect to scout.com, but they weren't SERIOUS enough about picking up another back when it came to the draft, or through free agency to date. Granted, the market dictates that, but it clearly has not been among their highest priorities this offseason.

So I think the significance of this interest (which has been reported by Reiss and others all along) is being overstated here. Tying this to some dissatisfaction with Maroney is just getting a little carried away.

The other posters who linked the interest to Morris's situation make better sense. I think this relates to the possibility that Morris will not regain his effectiveness. You never know with serious injuries, I guess. So they're doing their due diligence in the event they have to bring somebody else in to play that sort of role. They may not even think at this point that they'll have to, but they're planning anyway, which they always do.

I don't see what's alarming about that, as it relates to Maroney especially. Some back they bring in now isn't going to take away carries from Maroney. They're going to decide in June that they need to do something about their top back?

I don't think it has to necessarily be alarming where Morris is concerned, at least any more so than you've been alarmed already. We ought to know there's at least a chance he won't be up to speed when he gets back to the field. That was a fairly serious injury. They appear at least hopeful that he'll complete his rehab on schedule (given the lack of moves already), but there's always the chance he won't. I think that's been the case all along.

I've been a member/subscriber at scout.com for awhile now and I enjoy it. I don't think they're being very realistic if they're pimping this as some significant thing.

Not sure if you'd want to pick up Mike Anderson. He's suspended for all of 2008.

That is interesting though, because it's unlikely that they'd carry 4 HBs. You'd think they'd be fine with Maroney, Morris, and Faulk, save for some camp fodder...like Green-Ellis.

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You sure about that? This seems like a no-brainer to me. Our running game slowed down big time after Morris was injured last year.

Sammy is a solid backup, but if he goes down, or if Maroney gets injured again, who are we looking at as a #2 back? Kevin Faulk? He's a great receiver, but he's never been a solid runner. More than that, he's getting old, and older players are always more injury-prone. We can't rely on him to produce as a #2 back if one of ours goes down. Last season proved that our offense will start encountering some difficulties without consistency from the running game.

Even a "scrub" type player like Samkon Gado would be great for this role. All they have to do is get three yards and keep Morris/Maroney from wearing down during the regular season.

Call me crazy, but I'd rather take a chance on Cedric Benson. I think he's got the most talent and least amount of wear and tear of anyone on that list. I'd give him a veteran minimum salary with incentives to earn more if he keeps his nose clean and produces. It's a shame that he got into trouble in Chicago and never lived up to his draft status, but I don't think his talent should go to waste. A change of setting and a chance to play with some great leaders in the Pats' lockerroom would do him some good.

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I agree with you....Benson has HUGE upsides........he needs a fresh start and a character overhaul.....heck if Moss or Dillon can clean up their acts here......Benson could ......he never had a major injury did he? I would go after him........good post